


The Space Between

by LicieOIC



Series: Alternate Universe Doctor Who Prompted Fic [2]
Category: Broadchurch, Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Crossover, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Huddling For Warmth, Morning Sex, Road Trips, Sharing Body Heat, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Room, Swearing, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-15 23:36:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1323454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LicieOIC/pseuds/LicieOIC
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose Tyler is heading a Torchwood investigation in Broadchurch. When it is discovered that aliens are involved, she is required to escort Alec Hardy, the local constabulary liaison, to London for classified information clearance. When they are caught in a blizzard, they are required to bunk down at an inn in the back of beyond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Space Between

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by lauren2347, captaingrahamcr, and vanderventure.
> 
> I will not be adding any more to this fic, as I see no need to basically rewrite Whoville's AMAZING "ClosedVerse," but thank you to all who enjoyed this little fic!

It was only two and a half hours. That’s what she kept telling herself. She could handle it. Even if it was two and a half hours, alone, in a car, with the insufferable git who happened to look exactly like the Doctor.  
  
It had taken Rose five long years before she accepted that the Dimension Cannon wasn’t going to work. Two more years to put her past behind her and start living again. She threw herself into working for Torchwood, not to get back to the Doctor, but to keep the Earth safe, and soon was a senior field agent. The last thing she expected was to meet Alec Hardy during a mission in Dorset.  
  
Rose and her team had come up to Broadchurch to investigate suspected alien activity. It was standard procedure to cooperate with the local constabulary. She just considered herself lucky that Mickey had been there to cover their introductions as she’d stood there, choking on her own tongue, staring at the Scotsman with the flat hair and scruffy face. It had taken every ounce of Torchwood training for her to step forward and shake the man’s hand.  
  
However, the more time she’d spent with Alec over that first week, the more she realized he was nothing like the Doctor. In fact, she’d stopped seeing the similarities after the first day, what with Alec’s constant frowning, his unkempt appearance, and his abrupt nature. That was fine with her, once they were done with the investigation, she could return to London and safely forget him.  
  
Because that was what she had to do. She’d worked too long and hard to put everything behind her. She didn’t need to be impressed with Alec’s work ethic, his dedication to keeping the town safe. Or feel elated when he admitted she and her team had earned his grudging respect. And she definitely did _not_ feel warm inside when she felt his brown eyes soften just _that_ much when he looked at her. So, moving on would be for the best. Definitely.  
  
Then, they’d discovered that aliens were, in fact, involved. Which meant Alec needed to be cleared through Torchwood brass for access to classified information. Which meant Rose had to escort him to London, since she was the senior officer. Two and a half hours of awkward silence, filled with nothing but the music from her MyPod. (Another quaint difference in this universe.)  
  
She didn’t think it would be so bad, she could pretend they were at a film. A boring, road documentary. And driving would keep her distracted. She was determined to think positively.  
  
Until an hour into the road trip, when the blizzard hit. All roads were closed, leaving them stranded in a tiny town north of Southampton.  
  
With her emergency credit card, Rose checked them into the town’s only inn, which was crammed to capacity due to the weather. There was only one room left, but thankfully, it was a twin. Each of them uttered a sigh of relief that they couldn’t quite restrain. No need for this to get any more awkward.

* * *

Rose let Alec have the shower while she braved the snow to get some food from the pub next door. It took a long time, since they were swamped with people who’d been diverted from the road as well, but she didn’t mind. She wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to return to the inn to find an unclothed DI in the room.  
  
The pub wrapped the food in several layers of tin foil, to keep everything warm against the chill, and gave her a plastic bag to carry it in as she also had two tall, cardboard cups of tea. Back at the inn, she made a production about entering the room, wanting him to hear her. She walked in backwards, calling, “I’m here!”  
  
“I’m decent, Miss Tyler,” he said, sounding more irritable than usual, if possible.  
  
She turned around to find him sitting against the headboard of his bed, in his undershirt, his dark gray slacks, and stocking feet. His hair was slightly damp and laying even flatter. He was frowning deeply as he flipped through channels on the small telly, turning it off and tossing the remote down at the end of the bed. Rose put the cups of tea down on the nightstand between their two beds and handed the bag of food to Alec so she could get out of her winter gear.  
  
“What’d you get?” he asked, pulling the tin foil package out of the bag.  
  
“Standard pub fare,” she said with a shrug. “I got fish and chips—”  
  
“Ugh.”  
  
She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t let me finish. Those are for me. I got you a sandwich and some crisps, since I know you don’t like fish and chips.”  
  
He blinked at her. “How do you know that?”  
  
She slung her jacket, scarf, and wool hat on a chair. “I noticed a couple days ago when we had that late dinner brought in to the station for everyone.” She turned to sit on the bed so she could remove her shoes and noticed that he was still staring at her. “What? I notice things. You’re a cop, you do that, too. It’s our job.”  
  
“I suppose.” He busied himself with separating their meals.  
  
“Have a good shower?” she asked, for the sake of conversation.  
  
“Ehm, no, actually,” he said. “There’s no hot water.”  
  
Rose bit her lip, trying to stifle the sudden, hysterical laughter that wanted to come up along with the image of Alec getting into a freezing shower and screeching like a little girl. She almost managed it, but couldn’t suppress an odd snuffling kind of noise which drew his attention.  
  
“What?” he asked.  
  
“Nothing,” she said, instantly, not knowing that it was a mistake until the second she said it.  
  
Alec’s eyes narrowed. “What is it, Tyler?”  
  
“Really, it’s nothing,” she said, giving him a smile to reassure him and he just glowered at her in return.  
  
“Horseshit.”  
  
Rose sighed, briefly closing her eyes. He wasn’t going to let this go. “All right, I’ll tell you, but I don’t think you’re going to get it.” She grabbed her half of dinner because she was starving and set about opening the little packets of vinegar they’d given her. “Have you ever seen any Bill Murray films?” She was grateful that this had been the same in her universe as in Pete’s World, it would make things easier to explain.  
  
He looked confused, he probably wanted to know where she was going with this. “What, like… _Ghostbusters_?”  
  
Of course he hadn’t seen the one she’d been thinking of. The fact that he’d seen any Bill Murray films at all surprised her. “There’s this one called _Groundhogs Day_. It’s a kind of holiday they have in the United States… Anyway. Bill plays this bloke who is cursed to live the same day over and over until he changes his life around.”  
  
“Okay,” he said, slowly.  
  
“The first couple of times, he forgets that there’s no hot water in the shower, so there’s a couple of shots of him dancing around and screaming like a girl before hopping out of the tub.” She giggled, just thinking of it.  
  
“So… you were picturing me in the shower?”  
  
That brought her up short. Her cheeks suddenly felt warm. “Erm…”  
  
He stood up, grabbing half of his sandwich. “I think I’m going to call the precinct. Tell them we’ll be running at least a day behind schedule.”  
  
“Yeah, good idea, I’ll call Torch—” The door closed behind him. Rose closed her eyes and covered her red face with her hands. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck…” she muttered under her breath.

* * *

Feeling it was best to make use of the empty room while she could, Rose went into the loo and changed out of her top and stretch pants, leaving her in her bra and knickers. She draped a towel around herself and peeked out into the room. Alec was still gone. With a sigh of relief, she rushed to her bed and got into it, pulling the covers up to her chin. She put the towel on the floor at the bedside, so she could make the trip back to the ensuite in the morning without giving the DI too much of an eyeful. Her sensible side told her she should just sleep in her clothes, but her normal side knew she’d never get any sleep that way.

She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and made a quick call to headquarters, to inform them of their issue with the weather. They asked her to keep them apprised of the situation and she hung up. Plugging her car charger into the adapter she always carried for emergencies, Rose plugged her mobile into the wall and set about finishing her dinner, even though it had cooled by then.

Alec came back in as she was finishing her chips. He glanced at her huddled form under the covers, but said nothing, just returned to his bed for the rest of his sandwich.

That was when the steady hum of the heater turned into an ominous clicking noise and went silent. Alec went over to the machine set into the wall and turned a few dials and pressed a few buttons. Nothing happened. He sighed and Rose groaned.

“It just figures,” she said. “No hot water and now no heat.” She crumpled the tin foil her meal had been on and switched off the bedside lamp, turning over on her side so that her back was to Alec. “Have a good night,” she said, flatly.

He grunted. A few minutes later, there was a rustling of fabric and his light also turned out.

* * *

It wasn’t long before the room was utterly freezing. The window, though closed, seemed to leak cold air. Rose shivered uncontrollably under the sheet and duvet, her teeth chattering, unable to get warm, unable to sleep. Perhaps she should have kept her clothes on…

She startled as suddenly another sheet and duvet were thrown on top of her and the bed dipped under Alec’s weight. She sat up partway, until she remembered she wasn’t wearing much. She huddled back down, but looked over her shoulder in shock as he climbed into her bed. She couldn’t see him very well in the dark, but she was fairly certain she knew a bare chest when she saw one.

"What on earth are you doing?" She said through still-chattering teeth.

"Its freezing," he said, unnecessarily. "This is the only logical thing to do. Besides, your teeth are keeping me awake." He scooted over, closer to her, then stopped when he saw her look in the dim light from the window. He sighed. "We’re both adults, Miss Tyler. You really want to spend the whole night awake when we have to drive tomorrow?"

He had a point. Several, actually. But… “I’m in my knickers.”

“I’m in my pants.” He seemed confused as to why they were stating facts. “It’s not like we packed pajamas, this wasn’t supposed to be an overnight trip.” Evidently satisfied that he’d presented his case sufficiently, he settled down in the bed, and pulled the two sets of bedding high up over both of them.

She couldn’t hold in the squeak that came out when he grabbed her waist and pulled her back flush with his front. He’d been serious about only wearing pants. “Easy, Tyler,” he said, the burr in his accent soft, his breath tickling her ear. “It’s just so we can get some sleep.”

“Right,” she croaked. His hand was splayed on her bare stomach, and a small amount of chest hair was brushing her upper back. Her heart was racing. Already, she felt loads warmer, but she wasn’t sure it was a good thing.

It was a long time before she drifted off inside their snug little cocoon.

* * *

Rose awoke the next morning slowly, reluctant to leave the circle of warm arms that surrounded her. She stretched her back, arching like a cat, lazily, sliding her body against the one alongside her. A low groan came from behind her, and then slim hips were tight against her bum, the cleft of her arse lovingly cradling something long, firm, and unmistakable.

Her eyes flew open as Alec tightened his grip on her, rutting against her once, twice, the cotton of his briefs rasping along the silk of her knickers. Rose swallowed hard. He was obviously not awake yet, or that definitely wouldn’t have been his reaction to waking up with morning wood next to her.

He took a deep breath through his nose, and snuggled closer, nuzzling her hair. “Rose…” he mumbled.

She stopped breathing. Had he really just…? Her breath started again, twice as fast, as his hand on her stomach came up, cupping her breast. She should speak up, she should stop him, wake him up, _something_ , but her voice seemed to have disappeared.

Because she didn’t really want him to stop.

She knew the moment he was awake, because he went absolutely still and his slow, steady breathing halted for one terrifying moment.

“Oh, shite…”

In the time it took Alec to twitch his muscles in order to move away from her, Rose made a split-second decision and clasped the hand that was on her breast, keeping him where he was. Before he could ask what she was doing, she wiggled her bum, undulating against him.

He gasped. “Miss Tyler—”

“Rose.”

“What?”

She turned, slinging one leg over both of his and straddling his body while staying under the covers. “My name,” she said, “is Rose.” She trailed her hands down his chest and he hissed in a breath. “I know you know it, you said it in your sleep.”

His dark eyes shot up to hers. Understanding passed between them like an arc of electricity and he reached up, tangling his hand in the hair at the back of her head, pulling her down for a hard kiss. She bit his plump, pink lower lip, tugging his mouth open before plunging her tongue inside, kissing him hungrily. He growled low in his throat in response, wrapping an arm around her waist and shifting their weight, rolling her under him.

He shoved her bra upward not bothering to try and find the fastenings, palming her breasts and breaking their kiss to suckle each russet-hued nipple. She moaned as his beard scratched the soft, sensitive skin and he brought each bud to tautness with his teeth and tongue. She felt him moving against her, his cock straining against his pants. She wanted those off, but she also didn’t want him to stop what he was doing with his beautiful mouth and she couldn’t quite reach with her hands.

She lifted her legs and hooked her toes into the waistband of his pants, managing to wiggle them down as far as his knees, his cock bobbing free. He straightened up then, moving her knickers to the side with one hand and sliding two fingers into her with the other. She moaned deeply, arching her neck.

“So, this is what all the sniping at each other was about?” he asked, a smug smirk on his face. “It’s all been leading to this, hasn’t it?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Hardy.”

“What?”

“Shut _up_ and _fuck_ me!”

Dutifully, he removed his fingers and found her wet folds with the head of his swollen cock, surging forward in one swift movement. They groaned in concert. Alec grabbed her legs and moved them over his shoulders as he leaned down, placing a hand on either side of her torso. Neither of them were interested in taking things slow as Rose urged him into a fast pace with filthy words and disjointed sentences. The sound of flesh slapping flesh seemed loud in the quiet of the morning. He reached between them and rubbed her clit with one strong thumb, making her cry out higher and higher until her body went motionless, every muscle as tight as a bowstring, her inner muscles convulsing around him. Two more strokes and his face crumpled in a grimace, his cock twitching and jerking within her.

Her legs fell down to the bed as he fell down on top of her. Her hands came up to his back, stroking his smooth sweaty skin, welcoming his weight. Her whole body thrummed with sensation. She felt… marvelous. “Fuck,” she breathed out on a sigh.

He hummed in agreement, kissing her neck, but tensed a moment later. “Fuck,” he echoed, but in an alarmed tone. He pulled himself up on his elbows to look at her, his softened cock sliding out of her. “Rose, we didn’t use protection,” he said, a touch of panic on his face.

A trickle of their combined fluids dripped down one of her thighs, as though to punctuate his statement. Calmly, she placed a hand on one of his biceps. “I have an implant,” she told him.

He sighed, dropping his head down to her shoulder. “That’s good, but bloody hell… I attacked you like a bloody teenager. I should have been thinking…”

“I think if you had been, this wouldn’t have happened,” said Rose.

He chuckled and lifted his head. “What was this, then? Sexual tension?”

“Obviously,” she said. “But was it a one-off?”

His eyes softened. “Not if you don’t want it to be.”

She smiled, biting her lower lip. “There are some things I should tell you,” she said, seriously. “Before you make that decision.”

“All right,” he said, moving to sit up.

She did likewise, but shook her head. “Not here.” She blew out a breath. “I’m going to have to arrange for a slightly more in-depth tour of Torchwood.” Tilting her head at the ensuite, she said, “Why don’t you see if there’s hot water this morning while I make a call.”

He nodded and stood up, his pants falling to his ankles as he did so. Rose giggled, reaching behind herself to remove her askew bra. Next time, and she hoped there would _be_ a next time after she told Alec about her past and the man he resembled, she’d make sure they went a bit slower.


End file.
